Talking yourself into Spanish: Intrapersonal communication and second language learning

An empirically-supported theoretical argument is made for the relevance of private speech, or intrapersonal communication, in the internalization of an L2. We propose that the process is parallel to that attested in children learning their L1. In internalization learners imitate the linguistic affordances made available by the classroom community. Imitation, in the theoretical perspective that informs the study, is not mimicking; rather it is a uniquely human, and potentially transformative, process in which the individual constructs his or her unique psychological understanding of the new language. We analyze a data set taken from recordings of the private speech of an adult classroom learner of Spanish. The analysis shows that learners are cognitively active participants in classroom communities even when they are not engaged in overt social interaction. It also shows that learners focus on aspects of the L2 that do not necessarily coincide with the teacher's instructional goal.